TRENTON — Democrats and Republicans on the state Assembly Budget Committee today urged the Christie administration to reconsider plans to phase out financial support for sheltered workshops, the vocational program that provides employment for 830 people with developmental disabilities.

Chairman Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson) and Assemblyman Anthony Bucco (R-Morris) said they had both received calls from concerned families and nonprofits that run the programs. "Some of these individuals would not be able to survive in a competitive workforce," Prieto said. The workshop "makes them productive and make them feel good about themselves."

Human Services Commissioner Jennifer Velez stressed no contracts have been severed yet. But she said the state must work toward matching these workers with a job that pays at least minimum wage — something sheltered workshop jobs aren't legally required to do. Workshops also wrongly segregate employees from the rest of the working public, she said.

"It's a case of figuring out what people can do," she said.

Oregon's sheltered workshop program is the target of a class-action suit by a disability rights organization and the U.S. Department of Justice, The lawsuit, filed last month, accuses Oregon of violating the Americans with Disability Act for failing to offer disabled workers support finding jobs in the mainstream workforce, according to Oregonlive.com.

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"When the Department of Justice goes into a state it's important for us to take action," Velez said.

The federal government refuses to subsidize these programs, so the $7 million tab is born entirely by the state. That's a strategy New Jersey can no longer afford, Velez said. "We have to ensure the services we fund are Medicaid-eligible services that allow us to stretch state dollars to as many people possible who need services," Velez said.

Bucco said Velez shouldn't rush into anything. "I encourage you to make no change immediately, and make sure those individuals that may not be able to enter competitive employment" retain a workshop position, he said.